NORWICH – The fate of a defibrillator for the Chenango County Office Building rests in the hands of the full Board of Supervisors.
A ruling requested from the county attorney’s office indicated potential liability to the county whether the estimated $2,300 device was on hand or not, and confirmed that insurance premiums would not be affected, either.
Chenango County is not legally required to have a defibrillator in its office building on Court Street because it is within the mandated proximity to an emergency ambulance service. A discussion about obtaining one has been going on and off for years.
Two committees last week approved Public Health Director Marcas Flindt’s request for two devices, one for the nursing office on the building’s first floor and one designated for the West Main Street Office complex being built across the street. The number was slashed, however, in a meeting of the Finance Committee upon opposition by the supervisor from Pharsalia.
“I’m not in favor of this. I can’t believe we are taking taxpayer money and paying for a service that most people can’t afford for themselves. I’d like to have one at my business, too,” said Dennis Brown, D-Pharsalia, and vice-chairman of the committee.
“People tell us we need things like this and we buy it hook, line and sinker. We have an ambulance right over there,” he said pointing to the City of Norwich Fire Department.
While Town of Sherburne Supervisor Harry Conley said, “I have to agree with Dennis,” he ultimately voted in favor of a motion to purchase one. Brown was the only member of Finance who opposed.
Town of German Supervisor Richard Schlag made the motion ,explaining that he became convinced of the need for at least one unit after learning that with each minute lost without defibrillating the heart, a person’s chances of dying increases by 10 percent.
“This is what convinced our committee. And the training will be in place, we have nurses on call in the building already and the device is easy to use. Every institution has it,” said Schlag, who also sits on the Health & Human Services Committee which approved the purchase back in January.
Flindt requested shifting money from a personnel line item in his department to pay for the unit. Brown objected to using personnel money for this purpose, saying, “That’s not what we normally do.”
During a discussion of the matter before the Personnel Committee, Personel Department Director Bonnie Carrier said she could remember 20 years ago when the Public Health office was prohibited from distributing “as much as a Band-Aid.”
Flindt told lawmakers that nurses were called up to the courtroom on the third floor just last week to stabilize a woman who needed help breathing. “What if this had been a cardiac illness?” he asked.
“I feel pretty strong about this,” he said.
In support of the purchase, Town of Afton Supervisor Robert Briggs said, “I’m more willing to err on the side of saving someone’s life.”
New Berlin Supervisor Ross Iannello said, “It’s no big deal to operate them. If someone’s dying and we say we don’t have one, then how would we feel?”